


Tsuki no Le

by Shujinkakusama



Series: Bad End Running [3]
Category: Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star | Outlaw Star, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Cameos, Character Death, Crossover, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-11 23:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7911271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shujinkakusama/pseuds/Shujinkakusama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl and Garnet reunite on the XGP 15A-II and get a short reprieve on the way to Blue Heaven. Stevonnie seeks answers about their families. The crew of the Outlaw Star are unexpectedly helpful, along with some unusual denizens of a certain free town floating in space. // Outlaw Star crossover, continuation of angst fic, Pearlnet main, ambiguous timeline, AU. Spot the 90s anime influences!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Outlaw Star is a miraculous series and everyone should go watch it, but hopefully the characters stand alone.

Traveling aboard a ship with humanoids was eerie after so long in isolation. The Outlaw Star was manned by a crew of misfits, three of which came from a planet strikingly similar to Earth. The disgraced Ctarl-Ctarl officer was fascinated by Stevonnie, bombarding them with questions until they unfused, exhausted. Jim Hawking took pity on Stevonnie’s components and let them rest in his bunk—Garnet was hard pressed to reconcile Connie and Steven’s grown selves. They were in their twenties now, and it showed on their faces.

 

“We appreciate the help… again,” Pearl said tiredly, and the red-haired captain waved her off.

 

“My ship’s not a ferry, but you _did_ help us out,” Gene Starwind said without looking back at her, “Just don’t expect more handouts after this.”

 

“I’m willing to work,” Pearl insisted, earning a hand on her shoulder.

 

“Don’t mind him. Your EVA work was remarkable. We haven’t had trouble with the grappler’s deployment since you recalibrated the hatch,” a tall woman said, smiling thinly. Pearl vaguely recalled her introducing herself as Suzuka, and recognized her face from tabloids; a successful bounty hunter turned outlaw, she was famed for a wooden sword and a nearly spotless record.

 

Pearl nodded meekly, and Garnet’s hands found her partner’s waist, tugging her in for a hug. After over a decade apart, Garnet didn’t want to waste a second of their time together away from her lover.

 

The ship’s navigator, a wiry wisp of a girl with choppy hair, spoke up abruptly from behind a containment panel, voice coming out over the intercom. “You two should get some rest,” she said, and Pearl wondered about the ship’s interface system before she caught herself. Technology in space was so advanced now, so fascinating, but Garnet’s hands against her stomach were worth more than all the knowledge in the cosmos. “My room is the next one after Jim’s… You’re welcome to rest up there!”

 

“I think that pink lion already beat them to it,” Jim admitted wryly, “But you’re welcome to any room that isn’t locked.”

 

Pearl started to protest, and Garnet shushed her. “Thank you,” she said quickly, “I think we’ll take you up on that.”

 

“Please warn us before we get to Blue Heaven so we can wake Steven and Connie?” Pearl asked hopefully, but Garnet was already steering her to the back of the cockpit area, back to the crew’s chambers. Jim called back an affirmative, sending a pink drone along a maintenance rail to show them the way.

 

The drone babbled merrily with trivia about the ship, happy for the chance to boast about the XGP 15A-II, and Pearl was happy that she could follow along with much of its techno-babble. Garnet squinted against the brightness in the hallway, pausing to peek in on Steven and Connie—curled together on a bunk intended for one person, with arms and legs intertwined. Lion had joined them at some point, settled comfortably on the floor in front of the bunk.

 

“Garnet?” Pearl asked hopefully, pausing at the next door down the hall. “This is the room.”

 

Garnet turned, staring longingly at the two children—they would always be children, even long and lanky, and a thousand years wouldn’t change that—before following Pearl without a word. They were safe, and the futures that buzzed behind her third eye weren’t disastrous. She could breathe easy, knowing that Pearl had saved her, knowing they were in safe hands.

 

Gilliam trilled its goodbyes as the door slid shut, leaving the Gems alone for the first time since the attack on Earth.

 

For long moments, neither knew what to do. Garnet appraised Pearl, cupped her face in hands that hadn’t ever been prone to shaking before now, and Pearl blinked tired baby blue eyes against tears that were a long time coming. Garnet’s new hands traced Pearl’s familiar face, fingers delving into her strawberry pink hair, and Pearl tugged her down for a bruising kiss.

 

“They have cameras,” Garnet warned against Pearl’s mouth, but she pulled her long-lost lover against her, careful not to crush her in her desperation. In the space where she had half-existed, waiting for Ruby and Sapphire to be together again, she had lost track of time as much as she’d forgotten herself—but the longing persisted, burned like smoldering embers, and having Pearl in her arms again made her feel whole in ways that being corporeal again hadn’t.

 

Pearl clung desperately, fingers buried in Garnet’s unkempt hair, and she nudged her long nose against the exposed part of Garnet’s throat, breathing in her scent, familiar as the planet they’d called home for millennia. “I missed you too much to care,” she whispered, blinking against the threat of tears. She hadn’t cried in more cycles than she cared to count; couldn’t afford to. She’d mourned in silence, let her emptiness consume her from the inside until she was hollowed out completely, and Garnet’s presence now crashed over her, threatening to overwhelm her senses.

 

“I missed you so much,” Pearl whispered hoarsely, and Garnet’s grip on her midsection tightened minimally. The smaller Gem shut her eyes against the wave of tears that tried to escape, but her breathing hitched in a sob, and Garnet led her to the bunk and sank down with her while Pearl cried.

 

The Fusion blinked rapidly against tears of her own, pressing her cheek to Pearl’s hair and closing her eyes. “I love you,” Garnet murmured in kind, rocking her lover gently as years of pent-up feelings poured out of her, soaking her shoulder and neck. “I’m here. Thanks to you, Pearl, I’m here. It’s okay now.”

 

It wasn’t, and they both knew it; Earth may well have been lost, and the Diamond Authority would be after them. They would have to travel farther from home than these outlaws could take them.

 

But they would do it together.

 

Pearl cried herself out in short order, wiping her tears and curling into Garnet as if their forms might meld together if she twisted just so. Garnet pulled her into her lap, ran her hands up long legs, along smooth, exposed thighs; Pearl’s current form was dressed in a simple leotard, a mocking white diamond standing out against blue fabric where her star should have been. The sheer sleeves were reminiscent of Rainbow Quartz’s outfit, a quiet nod to their roots, and Garnet explored the familiar dip of Pearl’s spine and shoulders thoroughly.

 

“I missed you,” Pearl said again in a trembling sigh, “I thought so many times that I’d break without you, Garnet.”

 

“You’re stronger than you think,” Garnet reminded her gently, kissing the crown of her head and drawing her back to lie down against borrowed blankets in an unfamiliar place. These things didn’t matter any more than the crew they traveled with, or the length of the trip to Blue Heaven; everything Garnet had ever wanted was wrapped up in her arms, and no force in the universe would take her away again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie get some long-awaited good news from a somewhat unreliable source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went overkill and wrote two more chapters of this today, but I'm... going to put all the Outlaw Star installments together. So a double chapter!

Steven woke to unfamiliar surroundings, but after twelve years on the run, that was the norm. He expected that. Pearl secured strange berths for her children to rest in, paid their way across the cosmos with favors and trinkets from the Earth they’d left behind.

 

Sometimes, he wondered if the planet still existed. Certainly not the way he remembered. Not the people, not the places. Wondering made his eyes burn with fresh tears, and though he spent many years hardening his heart, those tears fell onto the makeshift pillow he was resting on, and he made no sound as he cried.

 

At least he had Connie. It was a miracle that they’d been able to escape together, that his best friend hadn’t been caught up in the blasts that decimated much of Beach City before they fled. Steven tipped his head forward to press a kiss to the woman’s hair. She’d given up everything in following him, in bringing Lion to the first colony they had visited.

 

Garnet’s advice long ago had been instrumental in their survival; when they weren’t Fused, Steven and Connie often talked together in hushed tones. They knew each other inside and out. Connie finished sentences for him when Steven got too caught up in his guilt to speak, and Steven picked up mid-thought where Connie lost herself in small things. Stevonnie was their own person now, as much as Garnet. Stevonnie held their components in a loving embrace that they could feel even apart.

 

Connie had grown up faster than Steven; at twenty-five, she looked closer to a woman in her thirties, with some of the same tired lines under her eyes that Dr. Maheswaran had sported when they were kids. Her hair wasn’t graying, not yet, but Steven teased her gently that it would. Connie threatened him with his impending balding, even though it seemed that he’d taken after his mother more than his father; Steven’s tightly curled hair reached his shoulders when it was pulled back.

 

“Steven,” Connie’s voice was tired, muffled by his chest, and the man looked down at her, blinking against his tears. She was asleep still, but long fingers were running up his back in loose circles all the same, catching on the fabric of his shirt. Connie was wrapped in the cloak the pearls back on Homeworld had fashioned for them. “’S okay, Steven… I’m here…”

 

Even in her sleep, Connie tried to take care of him.

 

Steven sniffed piteously, hugging the human woman tightly and curling closer to her. Connie was everything in the world to him and more, and he understood—more or less—how losing Garnet had destroyed Pearl more than anything and any _one_ else they’d lost along the way.

 

Without Connie, Steven didn’t think he could move forward at all.

 

Glowing white eyes peeked up from behind the girl, and Steven looked up. Lion chuffed, pressing his head to Steven’s face, rubbing scent glands along his face affectionately. Steven managed a quiet chuckle, reaching to thread his fingers through cotton candy pink fur.

 

“Thanks, Lion,” he murmured, ruffling the big creature’s ears and earning a lick up along his nose for his trouble.

 

“Are you done sleeping yet?” called a shrill voice from the door, and Lion turned, hackles up immediately, to see the Ctarl-Ctarl filling the doorway. Her tail swished, and her ears twitched, but she didn’t seem the least bit threatened by Lion’s warning growls. Steven reached over Connie protectively to pull his familiar back, and Lion made a show of huffing as he settled.

 

Steven sat up reluctantly, pushing himself up on an elbow. “I’m awake,” he said, knowing Aisha had gathered that.

 

“You’re a weird Gem, nya,” she said, plopping down cross-legged across from Lion, eerie catlike eyes on Steven. “Gems don’t sleep. They don’t get tired. They’re almost as good as my kind!”

 

“I’m half human,” he explained, “And I’m always tired.”

 

Aisha rolled her eyes. “You humans, you’re all alike! So lazy,” she complained, examining her claws, and before Steven could ask her to quiet down, Connie’s eyes fluttered open. Aisha’s entire countenance perked up. “Oh good!” she cheered, ignoring Steven’s quiet apology to his partner, “Nyao you can show me that neat trick!”

 

“Uh…?” Connie was slightly disoriented—which was fair, after months Fused—and she shook her head. “Sorry… miss—Aisha?”

 

“Aisha Clan-Clan, of the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire!” the feline puffed up proudly, flashing a lopsided, fanged grin that was so reminiscent of Jasper that Steven wanted to cry. “You’re from the Sol star system, so you’ve probably never heard of our great empire! We haven’t conquered the Milky Way yet, but we’ll get it back from that _stupid_ Diamond Authority.”

 

Steven and Connie exchanged pained glances, and Connie ghosted her fingers over his Gem.

 

If it wasn’t one band of aliens, it was another.

 

“I’m surprised, though,” she said abruptly, changing gears as quickly as Pearl did, but with far less preamble. She leaned forward to sniff at the pair, backing up only when Lion growled warningly. The alien hissed back, tail bristling.

 

“Surprised?” Connie prompted.

 

Aisha turned her attention back to the young couple. “Huh? Oh! Nyeah, you’re so far from your system. We don’t get Gems out here, but we _definitely_ don’t get humans from Sol. But you don’t smell that different from the others.”

 

“Wait, hold on,” Connie interjected, “Do you _expect_ people from—where we’re from? Earth didn’t have interplanetary travel…”

 

“Maybe when you left!” Aisha whooped, “Who knows _now_? You humans all call your planets Earth, that’s so weird.”

 

“Is Earth—our Earth—still there?” Steven asked, clutching Connie’s hand for support, dark eyes wide.

 

“I wouldn’t know useless trivia like that,” Aisha admitted, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Melfina might. Or Suzuka. Gilliam, too.”

 

Unfamiliar names again, and Connie didn’t think they would need to know them for more than a few weeks at best. Still, she nodded, looking up at Steven. “We’ll ask,” she said, flashing a tired smile at Aisha. “Thank you, Aisha.”

 

“Nyow will you do that trick for me?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stevonnie goes looking for answers. Gene's authority is undermined by his crew.

Stevonnie emerged from the cabin sometime later, with freshly shifted clothing and their hair braided courtesy of the Catarl-Catarl. Pearl and Garnet, they learned, hadn’t yet left Melfina’s room—and Jim assured them that while everything was fine, it was better not to disturb the two.

 

“We turned the cameras off to give ‘em some privacy,” the boy said proudly, “Since Gene here’s a filthy pervert.”

 

“ _Hey_!”

 

Stevonnie’s cheeks darkened at the implication, but they shook their head. What Pearl and Garnet did to celebrate being reunited wasn’t their business—and truthfully, their components would have likely done something worth turning cameras off for in the Gems’ places. Twelve years was an awfully long time to be apart.

 

Luckily enough for them, Gene had taken to arguing with Jim, which made escaping the conversation much easier. They glanced about the cockpit. At some point Suzuka had slipped off to her chambers, probably while their components slept, and Aisha hadn’t come in with them. She’d gone off for food—something Stevonnie briefly considered joining the Catarl-Catarl for—but the need to know was more pressing than the emptiness in their stomach.

 

“Er… Melfina? Right?” they asked hopefully, facing the navigator and instantly regretting it; she floated in the LCL tank completely nude, with her arms crossed lightly over bared breasts, ankles crossed, and the barest straps of metal helped to conceal her from the waist down… somewhat. “Can I ask you something?”

 

“Of course!” the navigator chirped, turning her head just slightly. Her mouth didn’t move when she spoke, but her voice came out clear over the loudspeaker. Stevonnie never thought they’d get used to this kind of thing.

 

Stevonnie paused to consider how to phrase their question, drawing on their components’ knowledge. “Aisha said that my planet may not have been destroyed when the Diamonds attacked it,” they explained, “I wanted to know… is there a way you could find out? It’s the Earth in the Sol star system.”

 

The voice that answered came from the ship’s droid this time, chipper, but not at all helpful; “The Sol system isn’t controlled by the Kei Pirates or the Space Forces,” Gilliam announced, “The information regarding this system would be rudimentary at best.”

 

Their gaze fell, and Melfina frowned. “Don’t worry! I can still look into it. I may know from the Galactic Leyline.”

 

“The Galactic Leyline?”

 

“Melfina!” Gene hissed, “Be careful who you talk about that with!”

 

Stevonnie glanced to the captain, then back to the woman in the tank. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” they confessed, brows furrowed and lips pursed in a frown. “I just want to know… Please, our—my—parents were there. If there’s a chance they’re alive…”

 

Gene groaned out something about sob stories, and Jim had the decency to lean over and cuff his best friend upside the head. “You don’t have any room to talk, Gene!” the boy scolded, and Stevonnie wondered what this crew had gone through. Especially the youngest member, who couldn’t be older than Connie had been when they fled Earth.

 

Melfina’s eyes closed, and silence hung on the air between them as she considered. Stevonnie didn’t dare to breathe; scarcely dared to hope.

 

“The planet still exists,” Melfina’s voice rang out at length, and she smiled gently at the startled Fusion. “And it still sustains life. The Kei Pirates were looking into that galaxy some time ago, but must have been driven off by the Diamond Authority. Their interest was in the Sagittarius Zero Star, but Sol’s Earth was considered for habitation. They kept an eye on it as recently as five years ago.”

 

“Five years? What happened then?”

 

Melfina was silent, then shook her head just slightly. “The professor keeping the records vanished. That’s all I can find.”

 

“Knowing the Kei Pirates, he probably got killed,” Jim said thoughtfully, “And even if we could track him down…”

 

“Wouldn’t matter; we’re only going as far as Blue Heaven,” Gene announced, looking to Stevonnie. “Look—I sympathize, I do, but fuel isn’t cheap, and we’ve got places to be. I can’t make hyper jumps to the Milky Way on a hunch, especially not to a planet that I can’t refuel on. It’s not happening.”

 

“But Gene—“ Melfina and Jim chorused.

 

“It’s okay,” Stevonnie’s voice wavered, but they smiled, eyes watery. They raised their hands in appeal. “Really, I—we appreciate whatever help you can give us. We’re going to Blue Heaven, right? I’ll… work my way until I can find transportation. We’ve done it before. It’ll be easier with Garnet with us.”

 

“Gene Starwind, did you make them cry?” Twilight Suzuka’s voice rang like a bell announcing a man’s death, and Stevonnie was quick to dry their eyes, flustered and embarrassed by the show of weakness.

 

Gene groaned, pressing his palm to his forehead. “We’re not going to the Milky Way!”

 

“Stingy,” Suzuka tsked, reaching for Stevonnie’s hand and producing a handful of cards from her sash. “These should have plenty of creds on them. If you and your friends use them wisely, you’ll be able to get far.”

 

“I…” Stevonnie started, tears fresh in their eyes, and they shook their head, bowing instinctively. “Thank you.”

 

There wasn’t much else _to_ say.

 

Deep in their breast, Stevonnie felt the tug of longing for home, and a flickering warmth that their components had all but forgotten.

 

They had hope now.

 

Stevonnie couldn’t wait to tell Garnet and Pearl.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl does some maintenance work. Garnet is not happy.

Most of a week passed without incident. Blue Heaven was a welcome enough sight to the Outlaw Star’s crew, and the remaining Crystal Gems were glad to stretch their legs. Melfina had been kind enough to give up her room to the trio. Stevonnie had stayed Fused for much of the trip to conserve space; the room wasn’t intended for three grown people.

 

Garnet and Pearl rested at night, happy for the reprieve, and happier still for the excuse to hold one another. Stevonnie woke to the sound of Garnet crying one night, foreign and startling, and they had been careful not to bring it up in the morning, even if they hugged Garnet tighter than they ever had. Lion licked Garnet’s hands and chuffed affectionately, and Garnet knew that despite their losses, their small family would recover.

 

Somehow.

 

Docking at Blue Heaven was a messy affair; Gene Starwind was not unknown in these parts, and had his own share of debts. Pearl offered up her services as a technician, and the portly Corbornite in charge readily accepted—but not without berating Gene in several tongues, much to the grappler captain’s chagrin.

 

Stevonnie volunteered to go with Melfina to gather supplies, Lion in tow, which left Garnet to wait on Pearl’s maintenance work. The Fusion watched her lithe lover crawl into a wall panel with pliers and replacement wiring for an internal circuit board and angled herself to block as much of the view as possible. Pearl seemed to have forgotten how little coverage her leotard actually offered, but she was the only one.

 

“Pearl, shift into your space suit,” Garnet said, watching Pearl shimmy backwards out of the wall with barely-concealed interest. “You’re attracting admirers.”

 

Pearl looked briefly confused, then flushed, looking away. “It’s a way to get paid,” she said quietly, “It’s tough out here. It’s better to give a little show. Swanzo and Mikey pay extra for that kind of thing.”

 

Garnet’s eyes went wide, and for several long seconds, she stared at her lover. Pearl couldn’t look at her. “You’re better than that,” Garnet said firmly.

 

“Creds are hard to come by,” Pearl insisted, “We traveled a while with some professional Pleasurers. I learned some tricks. Nothing physical, just… you can’t look like you know what you’re doing. There’s no pay for a pearl that isn’t being pretty, Garnet.” Her voice dropped, “It’s just part of the game.”

 

“Pearl…”

 

“Steven and Connie—Stevonnie—it’s hard to get them palatable food in some quadrants,” she went on, “The creds don’t last. Commercial ships are expensive. And Gems aren’t exactly popular in this system. Or most systems. Yellow Diamond’s earned our kind a bad name.”

 

“But—“

 

“It’s just skin,” Pearl insisted, finally meeting Garnet’s gaze, and it wasn’t the first time Garnet saw the wear of the past twelve years in her hollow eyes. “Most people—they assume Stevonnie owns me. We don’t correct them. Not many people want to fight someone with a sword as big as theirs over a pearl.”

 

“Nobody owns you,” Garnet murmured, reaching out to tuck a lock of Pearl’s hair back into place. Pearl swallowed hard.

 

“I know,” she whispered, and she didn’t sound as sure as she would have on Earth. “It’s just easier to fake it. My spear isn’t always the answer. Sometimes… sometimes bending a little is.”

 

“Hey! Did you finish getting that panel wired?” the deckhand called, dropping in on a hovering platform driven by a dark-skinned man with garishly bright red pants. Garnet drew her hand away from Pearl’s face, looking away as Pearl made her excuses before disappearing back into the wall to finish the job.

 

Swanzo let out a faint whistle as Pearl crawled into the dark shaft, Gem lit, and turned his attention to Garnet. “Never met a Gem like her in these parts,” he said merrily, half to his companion, completely missing the dark look on Garnet’s face. “Really, you lot are the only Gems we’ve seen in ages. Starwind always does pick up strays, though. Outlaws or travelers?”

 

“Outlaws,” left Garnet’s lips before she thought much of it, and Swanzo hummed. The man beside him said nothing, but Garnet watched his eyes flicker to the star across her shoulder.

 

“Seems right. You know the rules of Blue Heaven? It’s a free town, but you gotta have rules to stay free.”

 

“Never been here,” Garnet said gruffly, folding her arms.

 

“You have any weapons?” the man piped up.

 

“That depends.”

 

“Well, you can’t fire projectiles,” the Corbornite explained, “Knives, blades, electric stunners—all that’s fine and well, so long as you’re smart about it. Guns, even that ridiculous old Caster Starwind has, those are outlawed.”

 

Garnet nodded along. She didn’t care to ask about Casters, not when the answer was inconsequential. “Fists are fine, then,” she said, and all of Swanzo bobbed in a nod. “I fight with my fists anyway.”

 

“Well then! You’ll fit right in,” he replied, waving as Pearl re-emerged. “Everything wired up, little lady?”

 

Pearl nodded, offering him the damaged wires she had replaced. “I tightened the other connectors, too. You can start the power up anytime, but your ceramic parts are showing some wear from the heat. I switched the A and B slots to make them last,” she explained, “You’ll want to replace the insulation padding soon.”

 

“Beauty and brains!” Swanzo whooped, producing his wallet from a compartment in his suit. “Always a pleasure seeing you work, Pearl. I’d take you on full time if I weren’t married. The missus might suspect.”

 

“We wouldn’t want that!” Pearl’s strained smile as Swanzo swiped his card across her cred reader had Garnet seeing red, but she said nothing as Pearl finished up her exchange. The alien also produced a handkerchief for Pearl to wipe down with, and while it was ineffectual, Pearl was sure to thank him for the gesture.

 

“You’ll likely want to meet up with your friends in town for dinner,” he said, patting his midsection once he’d replaced both wallet and handkerchief. “It gets busy around this time.”

 

“Oh, of course,” Pearl said quickly, hooking arms with Garnet. “See you later, Swanzo! Goodbye, Mikey!”

 

“Always a shame to see her go,” Mikey said wistfully, and Swanzo bobbed again in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garnet and Pearl have a slight altercation. Some things change; some things stay the same.

Garnet was silent for a long while as the couple walked, passing humanoids and aliens that looked halfway corrupted. Pearl’s arm in hers was comfortable and familiar, but the gazes from passersby burned until she couldn’t take it.

 

“Pearl, please change,” Garnet said finally, tugging her partner with her into a narrow alley between shops. “I can’t take everyone staring at you like this.”

 

“I… what?” Pearl managed, confused and startled. “They’re not—“

 

“They are,” Garnet cut in, “Pearl, I don’t know how you could miss it. You’ve never been oblivious. You’ve got a giant diamond cut out of your chest and almost nothing covering your butt, you’re showing more skin than you did in Egypt—and you _hated_ that era.”

 

Color flooded Pearl’s cheeks and she glanced away. “It’s not an accident,” she murmured haltingly, “I… it works. It’s effective. That’s all that matters. I’m used to it.”

 

“Your comfort matters,” Garnet said firmly.

 

“That’s secondary.”

 

“No,” Garnet insisted, “That’s not secondary. Pearl, you’ve never _been_ like this, you’re not just a piece of eye candy!”

 

“I’m a _pearl._ This is reality, Garnet. It’s not like Earth out here,” Pearl’s voice was dull, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to see me like this. This is what works out here.”

 

For several long, painfully drawn out seconds, Garnet stared at her lover. She remembered Pearl as she had been back home, back on Earth, where she had fought for centuries for independence and strength and _freedom._ From the day they had met, Pearl had been a source of inspiration, an unstoppable force of nature in her own right—

 

And before her now was a very different Gem.

 

“Pearl… you don’t have to do this,” Garnet said carefully. There were so many uncertain futures spreading before her third eye, rapidly spiraling out of control. Futures where Pearl fled from this conversation, where she shut down, and those possibilities were ones she refused to entertain. “You don’t have to _sell yourself_ like—like some object.” That hadn’t been the right choice of words, and the dark look that flickered across Pearl’s soft face was like a kick in the gut. “I’ll work. I’ll earn money too. You don’t have to do it alone, Pearl.”

 

The smaller Gem blinked rapidly against fresh tears, and Garnet drew her hands up to dust kisses over the backs of her knuckles. “I’m here now,” Garnet’s voice was soft, “I’ll do everything I can to take the burden off of you from here on in.”

 

 

A laugh slipped past Pearl’s lips, but it was something like a sob, and she threw her arms around Garnet’s shoulders, and she buried her face in her lover’s neck as her form glowed. It took only a moment, but her leotard was quickly replaced by the familiar flight uniform she had worn during the war, pale blue with yellow boots and accents—and one significant change; a pink star that spanned her chest, rather than the old diamond symbol.

 

Pearl pulled back briefly, touched Garnet’s cheek, and leaned in for a soft kiss, gratitude and longing and _remembrance_ all rolled into one sweet gesture, and Garnet tugged her back in for another.

 

They didn’t leave the alleyway for some time, but when they did, Pearl was smiling, and it reached her bright blue eyes.

 

It was a start. Garnet was glad for it.

 

Stevonnie was easily found, carrying more than their share of supplies and following Melfina. The two were chatting amicably—Melfina had stories of her own, of the Earthlike planet Gene and Jim came from, and Stevonnie enjoyed hearing about Starwind and Hawking Enterprises, and they laughed along as Melfina regaled some of the misadventures her captain and his first mate had gotten into since she had met them. Talking to someone close to their components’ age was nice.

 

“Pearl!” Stevonnie gasped, peering over their armful of packages with a wide grin. “You changed into your old suit!”

 

Color rushed into Pearl’s cheeks, and she nodded. “Garnet recommended it,” she explained. “Since things will be… different now.”

 

“You look like—like _you_ again!” Stevonnie blurt out, putting their burden aside to sweep Pearl up in a spiraling hug, laughing merrily. “This is the Pearl I remember from when we were kids!”

 

“Stevonnie!” Pearl gasped out, but their laughter was contagious, and she let out a helpless trail of giggles, hugging her child—her children—until they let her down.

 

Lion seemed to approve well enough; he pressed his head into Pearl’s hand before moving to sit next to Garnet, whose arms were crossed. Melfina giggled, earning a quizzical look from the Fusion. “I never would have guessed,” she admitted, “You look very different in a plug suit! It suits you.”

 

“It’s a little dated,” Pearl admitted, always deflecting compliments by habit. “But I did—briefly—pilot. A very long time ago.”

 

There was pain in her voice, and Melfina was empathetic enough to drop it. Stevonnie finally put Pearl’s feet back on the ground, then moved again for a quick hug from Garnet, lifting the other Fusion off of her feet—but just barely. “Woah there,” Garnet chuckled, smoothing their long hair back away from their forehead. “You’re not _that_ big yet.”

 

“I am!” Stevonnie laughed, releasing her, and they went about gathering packages again. This time, Pearl helped, and Garnet took a few for herself.

 

Melfina smiled, despite feeling somewhat guilty for not carrying anything herself, and clasped her hands in front of her caplet. “Let’s go meet Gene and the others,” she said cheerily, “We’ll get dinner together and find out what they’ve decided about the hotel! It’ll be nice to sleep in a real bed, won’t it?”

 

“Definitely! I can’t wait!” Stevonnie exclaimed, motioning with their shoulder for Pearl and Garnet to follow along as they matched Melfina’s pace. “Oh man, and a shower, too! Do they have normal baths here?”

 

The woman laughed lightly, nodding. “Of course! It’s just like on most planets here, just a little more expensive. Gene always complains that I take too long and rack up the bill. But with the money Suzuka gave you, I’m sure you’ll be fine. You should all relax a little!”

 

“Do you think there’ll be enough?” Stevonnie asked worriedly, earning another melodious giggle from the Outlaw Star’s navigator.

 

“I think if Suzuka gave you creds, you’ll have enough for a long time,” Melfina said gently, reaching up and patting the Fusion on the shoulder. “She’s really loaded!”

 

“Well, don’t go saying that so freely,” Pearl scolded, “But… Stevonnie, I think it’s only fair if you enjoy yourself tonight. It’s been a long time since we were in a good port.”

 

Garnet wondered what about this port was good, but wisely kept silent. She was more interested in watching Stevonnie’s eyes light up, in the way they looked briefly like the new Fusion she’d met on Earth, and to her relief, when they thanked Pearl, their voice still cracked the way it had too many years ago.

 

That was one less butterfly to worry about.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner is eventful; bedtime even more so. Fluff.

Dinner was the sort of disastrous affair that was so reminiscent of life on Earth that Garnet almost excused herself. Gene and Aisha very quickly turned to arguing over who got which dumpling, and that very nearly escalated as Melfina and Jim tried to talk the two friends down. It was surreal how much—save the voice, which was just shrill enough to be reminiscent of Peridot—about Aisha reminded Garnet of Jasper, down to baring her teeth and growling like an unchained beast. Stevonnie spent the meal unfused; Steven and Connie were eager to eat separately, knowing that it might be some time before they had the opportunity to do so again. Suzuka quietly instructed them on which dishes were the best value, and Pearl spent much of the meal in silence, refusing repeated offers of what Aisha had ordered. Garnet did the same; she didn’t want or need food, and, from Aisha’s insistence that it ‘was barely hot at all’, she had a feeling that it was flavored with something like fire salt.

 

They weren’t kicked out of the restaurant, at least, even as Gene failed to produce adequate credits for his share of the bill. Suzuka laughed quietly behind a hand, offering a card of her own, and Connie whispered to Steven that she thought, perhaps, that the creds the bounty hunter had given Stevonnie weren’t entirely hers to give.

 

Neither was foolish enough to ask.

 

Pearl offered the managerial staff an overhaul of some faulty kitchen equipment, and to Garnet’s surprise, they agreed—whatever identification Pearl flashed had to have been forged, but the important thing was that it _worked_ —and her partner arranged to come by in the morning before opening to get the work out of the way.

 

“They’re stingy,” Aisha warned as they were leaving, arms stretched high above her head. “They skimp on the food. You sure you wanna wear all that, nya? You’ll get docked.”

 

“Honestly, I don’t expect a lot out of it,” Pearl admitted, looking aside. “Besides, it’s dirty work. I’m going to have to access at the back of their ovens. I’m sure it’s filthy back there.”

 

The Catarl-Catarl shrugged; messes hardly bothered her kind, but then, she considered herself much too dignified to do that kind of grunt work. Not that she hadn’t before, but their new companions didn’t need to know _that_.

 

“Ain’tcha small for that kind of thing?” she asked, “For Gems, I mean, you’re the littlest here.”

 

“I’ll be there to help,” Garnet declared, and Pearl looked up sharply, but the relief on her face was undeniable. The Fusion gathered her hand in hers, let Pearl thread their fingers together, and managed a smile. It still felt foreign, after her components had spent so long miserable apart.

 

“Do you two want to help me restock the ship with what we bought earlier?” Melfina asked of Steven and Connie, and the couple agreed readily enough. She smiled. “You two are both much stronger than me, so I’m sure it’ll be a breeze! Or if you want to combine again, Stevonnie and I can do it. I’m sure Jim will help.”

 

Steven shook his head, glancing to Connie with the kind of look Garnet knew her components shared. Connie matched his smile, even with her tired eyes and thin face, and Garnet’s heart ached deep in her chest. They were _supposed_ to be children. “We can do it apart. It’s nice seeing each other like this.”

 

“Alright!” Melfina was all too happy to agree, and ahead of her, Gene groaned, grumbling something about non-crew on his ship. Jim laughed at his expense; Aisha joined in, and Suzuka said nothing as her rowdier crewmates carried on.

 

It wasn’t their family, Garnet thought sadly, but it was nice to be treated as part of one. Pearl’s hand in hers was the only thing that hadn’t changed in a dozen years, but the Gem beside her was older and haggard in ways Garnet had never expected.

 

Garnet said nothing as they made their way back to the dock, and Pearl waved to Swanzo and Mikey with her free hand. They didn’t seem to notice.

 

Crates were unloaded and redistributed throughout the Outlaw Star, mostly under Jim’s supervision. The Gems helped, and Gene grudgingly admitted that their help was appreciated and—more importantly—that they were welcome to help anytime in the future. Steven and Connie were thrilled; they liked his crew, even liked his ship, down to the pink-painted droid, and Pearl let out a sigh of relief that no one but Garnet heard.

 

The hotel wasn’t impressive, but the beds were eerily reminiscent of Earth’s, even if the shower was more advanced. Steven and Connie slipped away together to get clean, and Garnet didn’t buy their excuse about conserving creds for an instant. The Fusion didn’t begrudge them, though; she had every intention of showering later, herself, and nearly every future she glanced into included Pearl in washing her back.

 

In the here and now, Pearl checked their room for wiretaps and other inconveniences; there were none, but she insisted that it was an important habit, and Garnet didn’t begrudge her. Alone again, and with a good hour to spare before Steven and Connie would return, Garnet gathered Pearl into her arms and sat on one of the beds. Pearl curled into her embrace, and after several long moments of silence, finally murmured; “Thank you. For what you said in the alley. I really needed to hear that, Garnet.”

 

Garnet knew the thanks were coming, but she sighed into Pearl’s downy hair, glad for it all the same. “It wasn’t entirely selfless,” she half-joked, “I don’t _want_ to share you, Pearl.”

 

Pearl said nothing for a while, splaying her hand across Garnet’s chest plate, tracing where the star had been in her last formation. It had moved to her thigh this time, but Pearl could see it in her mind’s eye. “You wouldn’t be sharing even if other people were looking,” she whispered, eyes downcast. “Garnet, I haven’t spent a day without missing you. Getting you back kept me on my feet for years… It doesn’t matter who looks my way. I don’t have eyes for anyone else.”

 

Garnet leaned down, tipping Pearl’s chin to meet her eyes. “It matters to me,” she insisted gently, “Because you’re beautiful—you are—but anyone who _only_ sees that when they look at you, and doesn’t want to value the rest… That’s the type of person I won’t tolerate near you. I didn’t put up with it back then, and I won’t now. I can’t.”

 

Despite herself, Pearl laughed at that, genuine and sparkling, then caught Garnet’s lips in a chaste kiss. Garnet’s right hand buried itself in her short hair to keep her from drawing away; Pearl’s hands found the Fusion’s shoulders, and she pushed gently, leaning with her until they were horizontal on the bed.

 

“I love you,” Pearl whispered against Garnet’s full lips, drawing back a little to meet her eyes. “I love you _so much_ , Garnet.”

 

This time Pearl didn’t dissolve into tears between bursts of kisses, but an hour later, Steven and Connie sat in the bathroom with the water running and decided that they would have to spare some creds for a separate room if this were going to continue.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old crone provides some fascinating information that Pearl and Garnet aren't wholly prepared for.

Morning came without incident; Pearl and Garnet slipped out to the restaurant a few hours before anything really opened and waited for the owners. The job was simple enough, and Garnet helped with the heavy lifting despite Pearl’s protests. Still, it helped keep up the frail illusion that Pearl fell back on when she was working, and even though Aisha’s prediction hadn’t been far off, they came away with enough creds to pay for another night in Blue Heaven, and that was all that mattered.

 

“You’ve picked up a lot of new tricks,” Garnet said warmly, slipping an arm around Pearl’s slim shoulders as they walked back to the hotel. The smaller Gem smiled, proud of her accomplishments, however small.

 

“I’ve been working a lot,” she explained, “A few years ago we wound up on one planet—Gunsmoke—and I had to build a ship to get back off of it. We got dumped by crooked traders. Stevonnie was furious.”

 

Garnet raised an eyebrow. “I would be, too,” she admitted, “You all went through a lot, didn’t you?”

 

Pearl’s smile was nothing if not wry, and she turned to nuzzle her face into Garnet’s shoulder. “You have no idea,” she said, “And you probably don’t want to. The important thing is, I learned a _lot._ The schematics for ships and equipment there are primitive, but much more like you get in this quadrant. Nothing like Gem tech. They used Plants there, but otherwise, it’s all very similar to…”

 

Pearl trailed off wistfully, and Garnet knew without asking that she was going to finish with _Earth._ Their Earth. She squeezed her lover’s shoulder gently and pressed a soft kiss into her hair.

 

“Let’s use some of those creds for a bath,” Garnet said, “I think we could both use it. It’s early enough, Steven and Connie won’t miss us. We passed a bath house a block or two back.”

 

Wide blue eyes peered up at her, misty and uncertain, and Garnet’s smile, more than anything, reassured her that it was appropriate to agree.

 

The bathhouse was like something out of an old cartoon; segregated by gender, and with an open-air atmosphere despite being behind closed doors. Pearl could read the signs, though haltingly, and arranged to use the women’s bath—presently occupied by only a few other patrons, old women gossiping in their own little corners.

 

Years ago, Pearl might have been the uncomfortable one, stripping down to nothing where strangers could see. But she phased out of her uniform without a word, banishing much of the residue from her misadventures cleaning grease traps to get to control pads earlier, wrapped a short towel around her torso, and waited for Garnet to join her. The Fusion’s towel didn’t quite cover everything, and she was acutely aware that there was not much to do about that. She slipped off to follow Pearl, who led her toward a free corner, eager for some semblance of privacy.

 

They didn’t get much.

 

Pearl had scarcely started scrubbing Garnet’s back with a slippery rag when one of the old women waded over, with long black hair that obscured some of her face, nearly marbled skin, and piercing yellow eyes. Her long fingers were webbed, but that aside, she could almost pass for a human—or a Gem, more likely, but there was something just disconcerting enough about her to put the pair on edge. Garnet wasn’t certain whether her pallor was truly green-tinted or if it was the overhead light.

 

“Er…” Pearl started uncertainly, looking up at Garnet, then to the old crone. “Can we help you…?”

 

“ _Mōdor_ , _”_ she supplied helpfully, a crooked grin beset with fangs twisting across her face. Pearl wasn’t sure if that were meant to be predatory or friendly.

 

“Mōdor, then,” Pearl said, eyeing her warily. “We were just about to wash up, so if you’d be kind enough to excuse us…”

 

The old woman’s chuckle was like pins and needles on the backs of their necks, and Garnet abruptly slid between them. Pearl reached for Garnet’s arm instinctively, and when Mōdor smiled her maw looked nothing short of monstrous.

 

“Why, we’re practically related,” Mōdor said slyly, “You Gems and my kind. I always meant to meet some for myself. Won’t you humor an old woman? You light constructs are fascinating, really.”

 

“You’re a _Mazoku_ ,” Pearl murmured, blue eyes wide. Garnet didn’t know the term, but from Pearl’s tone, she didn’t like it.

 

The alien’s smile widened, somehow. “You’re very sharp for a pearl,” she said, turning her attention instead to Garnet, who looked more than prepared to fight. “And you… That third eye. You’re like me. How marvelous.”

 

“What does that mean?” Pearl asked worriedly.

 

Garnet closed her middle eye reflexively, narrowing the other two. “What are you getting at?” she demanded. Her future vision was murky and vague, clouded where this Mazoku was concerned, and that was unsettling in ways she would never admit to outright. Mōdor laughed.

 

“Why, little sisters, we’re two sides of the same magic,” she crooned, “You Gems, with your false bodies and magical cores… Not so different from a monster like me. Especially you, Fusion.” Golden eyes found Garnet’s face, searching for something Garnet hoped she wouldn’t find. Mōdor shrugged bony shoulders that could’ve rattled in the relative quiet of the bathhouse. The other patrons paid them no mind. Garnet wondered whether they could see the crone. “I see you’ve lost something precious. Several somethings. Beautiful jewels, purple, blue, green and orange, lost on a little blue planet—“

 

“What do you know of Earth?” Pearl cut in, clutching Garnet’s elbow almost tightly enough to hurt. “How do you know about them?”

 

“I know everything my mistress shows me,” Mōdor said, “And many things that are yet to come. I know where you must go to find your lost jewels.”

 

“Where? Tell us!”

 

“Pearl, no,” Garnet hissed, “Don’t trust her.”

 

Pearl heard, but the ache in her chest weighed greater than her sense. “Mōdor, tell us. If we can revive them—“

 

“You can, and you cannot,” Mōdor said, spreading her arms wide. Wet black hair draped over her shoulders like a tattered cape, and Garnet swallowed a lump of fear in her throat. The Mazoku went on nonplused; “My Mistress sleeps on a golden sea, waiting. Sagittarius Zero Star, the old kingdom Shadow Galactica, it has a gate… The keeper of the gate will grant favor to stars that shine brightly enough.” She steepled her fingers, smiling wickedly. “You Gems might reach it. Might open the gate. The Golden Lady could revive your friends.”

 

Futures spread like wildfire before Garnet’s closed eye, and she shook her head. They weren’t pleasant. Weren’t easy. She saw a thousand ways where Pearl threw herself needlessly into danger and was lost to her forever, where Steven or Connie died—

 

And a handful where the crone’s words were true, where they returned to Earth to their lost family and friends.

 

Garnet blinked rapidly against tears, scrubbing at her eyes with one hand.

 

“Mōdor,” Pearl said slowly, “The Golden Lady… your mistress. That’s the Lord of Chaos, isn’t it?”

 

Mōdor clicked her tongue against her teeth. “She goes by many names,” she said, “Perhaps chaos, perhaps fortune… You will only know if She sees you.”

 

“Why would you tell us this?” Garnet asked, voice choked. “What do you gain?”

 

“Milady enjoys a good quest at Her behest,” Mōdor replied too sweetly, “Shadow Galactica has fallen, and the Cauldron is empty. She grows restless.”

 

Pearl looked up at Garnet beseechingly, blue eyes wide, wet with tears, and Garnet didn’t need her future vision to tell her what their next mission would be. They had nothing else to do, she supposed, and she sighed. It was a risk she didn’t want to embark on, but one that—should they succeed—would be well worth it. “Alright,” the Fusion murmured, “This Shadow Galactica at Sagittarius Zero Sar… we’ll look into it. Melfina will know if this information is anything more than gossip.”

 

“Excellent,” Mōdor murmured, bowing low. “I look forward to your progress.”

 

“What does that—“ Pearl started, but before the question could leave her lips, the Mazoku had vanished like smoke. The alabaster Gem hugged Garnet’s arm to her bare chest, pressed her face into her shoulder, and Garnet drew her close.

 

“Looks like we’ll owe Gene Starwind more favors,” Garnet sighed, blinking against tears of her own. Pearl nodded in agreement, shaking in her lover’s arms. The future wasn’t clear, even when Garnet tried to look into the short-term. From here, everything was cast in fog.

 

“I’m ready,” Pearl whispered, “I’m ready for anything. Let’s get them back, Garnet. I… we have to try.”

 

It went without saying, but Garnet nodded all the same, dipping to press a kiss to Pearl’s temple. “Yeah,” she agreed softly, “Let’s finish bathing, find the others, and get to the bottom of this.”


End file.
